


Late Summer Day

by MohnblumenKind



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Break Up eventually, Developing Relationship, Domestic Violence, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Romance, Unhealthy Relationships, it's with Russia, only Off-Screen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-17
Updated: 2019-04-22
Packaged: 2019-08-25 02:14:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16652359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MohnblumenKind/pseuds/MohnblumenKind
Summary: Tolys works at a hotel in Vilnius when he encounters a long forgotten friend. A friend that once was a small boy with a bright smile but that had grown up to be so differently.





	1. Chapter 1

The first time Tolys met Feliks was in the late afternoon on a summer day in Vilnius. Tolys sat at the reception of the hotel, as usual, checking papers and managing the reservations when the guests arrived.  
Ivan Braginsky was the director of a big and well-known Russian business. He was a regular guest at the hotel since his company had started to expand to Lithuania about a year ago. Usually, he traveled alone, staying never longer than one or two days. Yet, this time he had made a reservation for almost two weeks. Upon noticing the unusual duration Tolys had called the office back to verify the reservation, after all, the hotel had a couple of stars and their regular guests were especially cared for.  
It turned out that the duration was not the only unusual variation. Mr. Braginsky was not traveling alone this time.  
  
Tolys noticed him immediately upon entering the lobby: Next to the large and quietly smiling Russian was a small blond, dressed in a fine red jacket, looking rather bored.  
  
“Good evening, Mr. Braginsky, nice to have you back!“ Tolys greeted his guest. “I need your signature, as always, and the name and passport number of your companion, please,” he explained, handing over the papers.  
Both men signed the papers. The blond wrote his birthday, place of birth and his name – _Feliks Braginsky_ – in a fine handwriting. He leaned over the counter, his blond hair falling in his face. Tolys felt intrigued by the downcast green eyes in the pale face.  
The other did not look up once, not even when Tolys showed them their suite.  
  
Days later he would realize that this actually had not been the first time they had met.  
  
_Actually, they had met on a late summer day in Warsaw, years, no, decades ago. The sun shone brightly and Tolys had been outside all day, playing. He liked being outside, feeling the wind and sun and air, touching the earth with his bare feet. His mother would softly scold him upon returning home and herding him to the bathroom, insisting that he was thoroughly washed before they could have dinner. But not right now. Now he was outside, where he belonged. That was when he met the small blond boy, sitting on the swing. He was immediately intrigued, he did not even know why._  
_“Hey,” he said. It was not like him to talk to other children._  
_“Hellooo~“ the blond responded, his large green eyes full of joy._  
_From there on they met at the swing almost every day. Until one day when Tolys' father had a job offer in Vilnius and they moved there. A new opportunity, the adults had called it. I will be better able to provide for you, his father had said. We are going back home to Lithuania, his mother had told him. Tolys had no need for more money and he had never seen anything except for Warsaw, Poland. That was his home. But children seldom had a say in the world of adults so he did not object. After all, it would be a completely new world with new air and earth to explore, Tolys thought. It would be an adventure._  


  


* * *

  


Tolys hurried through the house. He was on housekeeping duty, having to look through the rooms, cleaning and replacing inventory. It was late evening, most of the guests were outside, doing tourist stuff or having business meetings. He carried a list with the rooms and names and had marked those few that had decided to stay in their rooms. He knew because the guests usually left their keys at the reception when leaving the hotel. That way he would not interrupt anyone on his mission to clean the rooms.  
When reaching the door of another suite, he knocked – a habit he had started after he once walked in to some guests on the first week of his job – and then opened the door with his key. Light flooded the entrance of the three room suite. A dark, round table stood in the middle, flowers, a water bottle and a bowl of fruits were placed on it. Tolys put down his basket and refilled the bowl and then polished the glasses. Then, he looked around, checking if the room was all right. It was, so he moved to the next one, the bedroom. The door was ajar but upon entering he froze. Green eyes locked into his. The blond man – Feliks Braginsky, Tolys remembered – was laying on the bed on his back, at the edge of the bed. His head was moved to his neck so that he was able to look at Tolys with his head upside down.  
Tolys stood at the doorway, not making a move. His mind reeled. He clearly remembered checking the list of guests and their keys at the reception. There had been two keys for Braginsky’s room, hence both men had supposedly left the hotel. That was obviously not the case and Tolys felt his cheeks heating. Flustered, he looked at his list and up to the man in front of him. Back and forth, but neither vanished. The blond made no sign of moving at all.  
“I am sorry, Sir,” Tolys announced, his voice a tad too high with embarrassment. “Your key is downstairs at the reception, I assumed you were... not here.“ And the other man had not even said something after he had knocked! That would have spared him this awkward situation. At least the guest was fully clothed and somehow seemed not to do anything at all except of lounging on the bed – it could have been way worse, Tolys thought stressed.  
The blond looked at him with indifference.  
“Yes, I think I have, like, forgotten it.“  
“Shall I bring it to you? You‘ll need it when you go,” Tolys offered.  
“Well, can‘t I just go without locking the room? Or is your hotel known for thieves?“ The blond raised an eyebrow towards the floor – being upside down – but otherwise was not moving.  
“No! Um...“ Tolys answered, flustered and taken by surprise. He fell silent before he actually would start to stutter. That logic was startling and simply crazy.  
The other man smirked up at him. It was a bizarre sight since he was still upside down. Then, he finally sat up, turning on the bed so he was cross-legged facing the concierge.  
“What are you doing here anyway?“ he asked, now sounding curious.  
“I am cleaning the rooms and refilling drinks and snacks and making the bed and such things. But since you are here, Sir, I-I have to apologize and I‘ll come back later,” Tolys explained quickly, almost spluttering.  
“Totally no problem. Continue,” the blond said, gesturing around the room to indicate his acceptance.  
Tolys hesitated. He was definitely uncomfortable with the other staying in the suite while he cleaned. But on the other hand he could hardly refuse the offer now since the guest had already allowed him to stay.  
So after a moment he sighed softly and made his way into the third room, opening the windows and looking at the mini-bar, checking whether it needed a refill. Through the open door he felt the gaze of the other man. When everything seemed fine there, too, he moved to the bathroom, wiping away the water strains. He exchanged the towels and got some water for the flowers. Tolys hoped for a moment that the other man would not still be waiting in the bedroom, but of course it was in vain. Green eyes immediately locked with his when he exited the bathroom. Tolys did the best to ignore the intense gaze and started watering the flowers in the bedroom and then tugged at their dried leaves.  
“Are you doing that every day?“ the blond asked suddenly. He had not moved from his spot at the bed at all.  
“Yes,” the brunette answered. As long as he had a shift on that day, that is.  
“That are some totally useless flowers if they can‘t survive like a day without water,” the smaller man announced.  
Tolys was struck with silence for a second. That was a strange conversation. He desperately tried to formulate a proper response. In the end he settled for “Every living thing needs care. The more, the better they blossom.“  
It might not have been the best lines he had ever said and they came across way more awkwardly than intended, but at least they were true.  
Behind him he heard a snort but neither of them commented on it.  
  
Tolys was finished with the flowers and turned, suddenly uncertain as how to continue since the guest was still seated at the bed. Yes, he was allowed to clean the room, but that did not mean he could ask the other to leave. Therefore, Tolys contemplated for a moment as to whether he should just leave the bed unmade. But the blond already got up on himself, moving away from the bed and over to a velvet chair. There he placed himself gracefully, still observing the brunette with a mixture of indifference and curiosity – if that was even possible.  
So Tolys started to make the bed. He felt the blond’s eyes in his back again. His mind reeled to find a topic to talk about since they were in the same room now. He was not particularly good at small-talk. Talking to the guests at the reception was different. They usually asked something about the hotel, the city, history, places to be, restaurants and sometimes about his work. That came easy to him. It meant most of the time he was not starting the conversations and he would definitely not ask the other any personal questions. So now, he could ask the blond whether he liked his stay in the city, but since the other had obviously not left the hotel since his arrival, bringing that topic up might come off as a reprimand or at least question as why the other had not left. So that was a no-go. And giving random facts about the city or suggestions for sight-seeing would go in the same direction and cause the same problems. So instead he kept quiet, enduring the stare from green eyes.  
Upon finishing with the bed-sheets, he turned to the guest.  
“Your key is still at the reception. I‘ll keep it there, like you said, Sir, but if you change your mind or need anything, you can call me with the telephone in the living room of your suite,” he announced.  
Blond brows lifted themselves.  
“Anything?“ was uttered with almost a suggestive tone.  
Tolys immediately felt his cheeks reddening again.  
“A-anything reasonable-“ he started, but was cut off with the other laughing. It was an incredible pretty sound, Tolys noted absentminded, even though the laughter was on his behalf.  
“That was a joke, sorry,” the blond said, still smiling brightly. “You should have seen your face!“  
Dumbfounded, Tolys just nodded and gathered his basket.  
  
“What was your name again?“ the blond asked when Tolys made his way to the door.  
“Laurinaitis, Sir,” the brunette answered shortly.  
“Thank you, Mr. Laurinaitis. I can call you, got it,” the other man repeated. “Have a nice day and don‘t let anyone irritate you.“

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, Feliks is obviously bored and definitely not good with talking to strangers… At least this was just slightly inappropriate, it could have been worse, like in the original story!  
> But seriously, don‘t do that to the hotel staff. If the manager is good, then they protect their employees and you‘ll never be able to book that hotel again when you make lewd comments.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For this fic to work you have to pretend that a Russian business man or even oligarch can show off with a fine dressed male at a social gathering as a “trophy“ and not just with a pretty female model as a wife. That is not how society works right now (and even less Russia), but just pretend it would be. I thought about making Poland female or trans, but decided against it.  
> Still, basically Poland is having exactly the role of the pretty wife of a wealthy man in this story.

It was another evening. The door of the hotel opened and two people appeared before Tolys.  
“Good evening, Sir, Madam,” he greeted them. “What can I do for you?“  
The two strangers were a very well dressed couple. A stern looking man with glasses and dark hair and a pretty woman with long brown, softly falling curls in a tight green dress.  
“Good evening,” the man said. “We are waiting for a friend, a guest of you, Mr. Braginsky.“  
Tolys nodded. “Of course. Shall I call him, Sir? I need your name, please."  
“Roderich Edelstein. We have an appointment.“  
While signaling both to sit down in the area in front of the reception, Tolys called the suite of Mr. Braginsky to inform him about the waiting couple.  
  
Some minutes later, the Braginskys appeared. The large man was dressed in a very expensive looking suit, the blond in tight dark trousers and a red tunic. Neither granted Tolys a glance.  
“Feliks!” the female immediately chirped, smiling brightly at the mentioned man. She captured him in a tight hug.  
The remaining two men shook hands and started to talk quietly with each other, while Braginsky causally handed over the keys of his suite.  
“Let me look,” the woman demanded, her voice clearly audible in the background.  
The blond dutifully turned for her.  
“I like it!” she announced. “Being so stubborn not to wear a suit is brave.”  
“Totally not my fault if the dress code doesn’t meet my standards!” the blond replied, smiling softly.  
The women giggled. “I think the reason they let you get away with it is the surname of your husband. With Łukasiewicz no one would even let you into the party tonight.”  
“Well, like you’re one to talk,” the man replied winking, while the brunette linked arms with him, softly pulling him outside. Their husbands followed.  
  
Tolys looked after them for a second and then put the keys at their assigned place. He distinctly had a feeling of recognition, however, he could not put his finger on it. He shook his head to disrupt the feeling, but to no avail. Somehow, he knew these light green eyes and he knew the name.  
Searching through the records he found the papers that were signed by the Braginskys. The blond man had written down his place of birth: Warsaw, on the 11th of November. Tolys did remember the Polish capital, even though he hadn’t been there for years. And he did remember a blond boy with a bright smile.

  


* * *

  


The phone rang. Once, twice.  
Tolys put down his breakfast and picked up his phone.  
“Hello? Tolys Laurinaitis here,” he said.  
“Hello Tolys!“ a familiar voice answered. His mother.  
“How are you, sweetheart? Are there news from the hotel?“ she asked, curious. She always was.  
“I’m well and you know I won’t talk about the guests,” Tolys answered sternly. He did that enough while working in the evenings so he enjoyed some quiet time during his free hours at home. Besides, since the guests usually were high-ranking people their whereabouts were often considered sensitive information.  
“But that’s _so_ interesting!“ his mother replied. Briefly he wondered whether she was actually the older or not.  
“Well, I can tell you something. He was not a guest, so that’s fine, I guess. Yesterday Mr. Edelstein was in the hotel. You know, from the Edelstein Enterprises?“ Some gossip would not hurt.  
“Oh! _That_ guy! Prominence! Isn’t he from Austria?“ his mother immediately announced.  
“Yes, yes he is. At least I think so.“  
“Was he on a business trip?“ she asked further.  
“I don’t know. He had his wife with him, though.“ Tolys doubted that this conversation was going in a good direction.  
“Oh, was she pretty?“ upon hearing this question, Tolys knew this had been a bad idea. He barely refrained from rolling his eyes.  
“Mom, I am not talking about the appeal of other men’s wives!“ he said, his voice showing his annoyance.  
“I would talk about _your_ wife if you had one,” was the immediate response.  
“ _Mom!_ “ he squealed. Were all mothers like this?  
“It’s been a while since you brought someone home, sweetheart.“  
“I am working a lot. The evening shift doesn’t make it easy to meet people,” he explained patiently. They had had this topic.  
“I know, I know,” she said. “I just want you to be happy.“  
“I am, Mom,” Tolys answered softly.  
  
There was silence for a moment. Then he decided to continue.  
“Do you remember our old home in Warsaw?“ he asked, changing the topic.  
“Of course, sweetheart! That’s long ago! Why are you asking?“ his mother replied, sounding slightly confused.  
“Nothing in particular. I just thought of a friend I had back then. I… I think he was called Feliks. Do you remember him?“ He did not know why he asked.  
“Oh, I don’t know,” she sounded uncertain. After all that had been years ago.  
“He was a blond boy? About my age. I surely have told you about him,” Tolys tried again.  
“Well, I know the Nowak-family down the street and that lovely girl, Agata Wójcik. Didn’t she have two boys? And there was this single mother with her son, Łukasiewicz, I think,” his mother mused.  
“Thanks a lot,” Tolys replied. She did not press further and after complaining about their neighbors and something about their church, they gave their goodbyes and Tolys couldn’t stop thinking about the memory of a blond boy with green eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And yes, that's Tolys' Mom. I think she will be the only OC and probably won't turn up again, but I needed her to support Tolys' memory here since he was a small child back then in Warsaw. After all, as humans all of them have mothers, so her existence is not that big of a surprise.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Update:** I’ve heard about the controversy about Toris and Tolys.  
> Since Feliks suddenly decided in the 6th chapter to talk about names, I revised Lithuania’s human name in this fic, otherwise it would have been odd. Usually, it is not that important because as countries I let them use their nation-name or pet names, but this fic is an alternative universe with humans, so I decided on the actual Lithuanian name.

Tolys concentrated on the latest booking. Attached to it had been a request for air-conditioning and special rooms – some guests liked to return to their favorite rooms every time they booked – and he had to rearrange some of the other reservations to make this possible.  
With an exaggerated sigh a man leaned over the counter at the reception, pulling Tolys’ attention away from his work. Feliks Braginsky or Łukasiewicz, Tolys formed the names in his head, assessing the other.  
  
When the blond did not make a move, Tolys softly nodded.  
“What can I do for you, Sir?” he asked, removing the reservation he was previously working on.  
“It’s quite _boring_ ,” the blond announced. “Care to give some tips?”  
Tolys straightened up, fetching a map of the city. He took out a pen and circled the area where the hotel was.  
“That’s our position. If you want to visit the inner city, you have to take that road –“ he scribbled an arrow at the map.  
“Sightseeing tours start here and the former ghetto is there.” Again he marked the places. “Since the Balitcs have a lot of amber, there is a museum, too.” He was on business mode. But apparently his guest did not care at all.  
“I don’t think I’m going out today,” the blond announced, his voice disinterested. “But that’s a strange motto,” he declared suddenly.  
“Pardon?” Tolys asked, confused. Conversations with the other always seemed odd.  
The blond pointed towards the calendar behind the reception. On it was the motto of the day. _‘Do not dream your life, live your dream’_ was written in big letters. A quote by the Italian philosopher Tommaso Campanella. “Oh,” Tolys said, upon realizing what the other had meant.  
“The quote changes every day, Sir,” he explained, unsure of what else to say.  
“You, like, don’t have to call me ‘Sir’ all the time. I totally have a name, you know?” the blond reprimanded him, raising an eyebrow.  
“Of course, Mr. Braginsky,” Tolys answered immediately, slightly flustered due to being reprimanded.  
The other rolled his eyes. “Another one. You could call me Po, but Feliks is all right, too.”  
Tolys was not quite sure whether the blond was joking, but he nodded anyway. “Ok… Feliks?” he tried hesitantly. He promptly was rewarded with a bright smile that made something in his stomach curl tightly. He pushed the feeling down and concentrated on the guest in front of him.  
  
“I’m not sure what else I can offer you if you won’t go out today. You already know our restaurant –” after all, the guests had breakfast there, so the Braginskys had been there at least twice by now “– and upstairs there is a library.” He suspected that the other was not particular in favor of this information and indeed the blond – _Feliks_ , Tolys corrected himself – did not make any sign of interest.  
“Can’t you tell any interesting stories about the city?” Feliks asked instead, his green eyes fixated on Tolys.  
“Well,” Tolys started. He leaned back slightly to think about a topic. They were in Vilnius, Lithuania’s capital, of course there would be a lot of interesting stories. The question was which one would intrigue Feliks.  
“Archaeology says that this area was inhabited in the stone age, and a couple of excavations suggest the fourth millennium and second century before Christ,” Tolys started his story. “But there is a legend about Gediminas, a Lithuanian Grand Duke in the 14th century. He supposedly dreamed about an iron wolf howling on a hilltop. The pagan priest told him that the Iron Wolf represents a castle and a city. This city was supposed to be the capital of the Lithuanian lands and the dwelling of their rulers, and the glory of their deeds shall echo throughout the world.” He finished his short tale about the foundation of Vilnius with the old prophecy on his lips.  
Feliks raised his eyebrows again.  
“ _’The glory of their deeds shall echo throughout the world’_ is a bit exaggerated, don’t you think? It’s Vilnius, after all, not Paris or Rome or New York.” A small smile accompanied the words and Tolys asked himself whether the other was truly criticizing the story or simply toying with him.  
“And building a city because one, like, dreamed about it seems stupid,” the blond continued.  
“Well, _‘live your dream’_ is indeed the motto of the day and Vilnius is quite an impressive city, so I guess he successfully followed that slogan,” Tolys answered, smiling softly at the other.  
That resulted in a small laugh from Feliks that rang clearly in the air.  
“Touché!” Feliks agreed. “Since you know so much about Lithuanian history and use my first name, I’ll call you Liet from now on, fine, Mr. Laurinaitis?”  
Tolys nodded, trying to hide the blush that started to form due to the beaming smile Feliks presented him.  
“Anyway, thank you for the history lesson!” the blond announced. “I think that’s enough for one day and you should probably work anyway. Thank you for sharing your time, Liet,” he smiled again and waved.  
“You’re welcome. Good evening, Mr. Br – _Feliks_ ,” Tolys answered.  
He was rewarded with a laugh again that somehow went straight into Tolys’ heart.  


  


* * *

  


It was another evening. Tolys usually had these shifts since they mostly had something to do with the guests – new ones were arriving, old ones wanted direction or information – and his boss somehow seemed to think he was the most capable to handle these kind of situations. Plus, other staff had kids and family, so they favored the early shifts.  
The door of the hotel opened and in came Feliks, followed by a young, white haired man.  
“I, like, totally don’t need your help,” Feliks said annoyed.  
“Figured, but my boss – _your husband_ – said I am supposed to help you, and I’m not going to defy him because you are too stubborn,” the man answered, clearly grumpy.  
“I don’t need you to supervise me!” Feliks hissed.  
“Sirs?” Tolys decided to intervene. After all, there were other guests in this hotel and he did not need an argument in the lobby.  
“Hey, Liet!" Feliks immediately greeted him, a strained smile on his lips.  
“I was shopping today and Gilbert was just leaving, right?” he told the two men.  
The albino huffed. “You won’t be able to carry all the stuff upstairs anyway,” he said more quietly now as if to seriously reason with the blond.  
“Liet can help me,” Feliks announced, his eyes shifting towards the brunette.  
Tolys imagined there was almost some kind of plea in them.  
“Yes, of course,” he impulsively said. He somehow felt obliged to save the other from whatever distress he was being in.  
The albino’s eyebrows furrowed for a second, then he nodded, giving in.  
  
Tolys made his way upstairs, carrying a couple of shopping bags, followed by Feliks. Since they had gotten the bags from Gilbert’s car, the blond had not uttered another word, keeping his thoughts to himself.  
“I hope you had a nice trip, Feliks,” Tolys tried to start the conversation. The atmosphere was tense and Feliks was almost sulking.  
“It was fine,” the other answered shortly, obviously not really in the mood. “The man – you called him Gilbert? – works for your husband?” Tolys tried another topic.  
“Yes,” was another short reply. But after a moment of silence, the blond continued.  
“He was send to supervise me. That’s so annoying.”  
Tolys did not know what to answer to that, so he kept silent, but tried to catch Feliks’ eyes. When he did, the other continued, probably encouraged.  
“I’m no child, but he somehow thinks I need someone like Gilbert to watch over me. Or to monitor me. Whatever.” Tolys’ mind tried to connect the new statement to the sparse information he had about Ivan Braginsky. The quiet man did not seem like someone who was overly scared that anything could happen to his family, but Tolys was none to judge, he honestly did not know the man.  
“I don’t know what to say,” he finally admitted, looking at Feliks when they reached the suite. He tried to put as much emotion as possible into his eyes and voice since he was not able to offer any good advice.  
Feliks looked at him for a while, his face unreadable. Then he smiled a tight-lipped smile that definitely did not reach his eyes.  
“No problem, it’s not your concern anyway,” he said, his body tense.  
Tolys did not know how to solve this, so he opened the door of the suite for his guest and placed the shopping bags he had carried inside. Feliks passed him and with a small “thanks” vanished into one of the other rooms of the suite.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poland is in the canon zero interested in Lithuanian culture or Lithuanian-anything really, except for the personification of Lithuania himself. I tried to capture that.
> 
> And wow, Prussia turned up. Again. I don’t know how he is doing it, but he does that with a lot of my stories about Poland. (He tried to make his way into the story in the last chapter as their personal driver, but I forced him to stay off-screen). I think Ivan has some kind of semi-legal business so Gilbert is some kind of underling. And keeping an eye on his husband and probably reporting everything is part of that? As you see in the tags: It is some kind of unhealthy relationship that will unfold itself in the next chapters.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While inventing the story I thought about Lithuania being married to Russia first (because that fits their usual (historic/canon) background way better), but then I realized that Liet is not made to be a model wife and there is no way Poland would work in a hotel. Being especially kind and attendant to strangers? No way that would have worked out.  
> On hindsight, it would have been funny seeing them struggle...

Since the hotel had its own restaurant, the guests could order food or drinks in their rooms. Most of them did not since the restaurant was in the same building and eating in ones rooms made a bigger mess than using the proper rooms for it. Nonetheless, the Braginskys had already ordered some wine, vodka and cigarettes and right now asked for some dessert.  
Therefore, Tolys was on his way with the ordered dishes.  
As soon as he had knocked, the familiar white haired man – Gilbert, Tolys recalled that Feliks had used that name – opened the door.  
“Good evening, Sir,” Tolys greeted him, smiling politely.  
Before the other could answer, a voice from behind was heard: “Hey, move over."  
Feliks, obviously.  
The albino did as he was told, even though he muttered some unrecognizable complaint. In view came Feliks, wearing the tight dark trousers he had while being out the other evening and a light green colored shirt that barely clung to his shoulders. Tolys could not prevent to notice that the color matched Feliks’ eyes perfectly.  
Feliks shooed the albino out of the way and ordered him back to the others that presumably had gathered in the living room of the suite, outside of view.  
  
“Hey there,” the blond whispered softly in Tolys’ direction, a smile on his lips.  
“Hello Feliks,” Tolys answered, nodding respectfully at the other just to do anything else than stare at him.  
“That’s the dessert?” Feliks continued, moving out of the way and opening the door completely to let the other man in.  
“Yes,” the brunette simply answered, placing the dishes on the table in the first room. Through the next door, he could hear voices and laughter.  
Feliks flitted behind him, then he leaned over the table next to him. Tolys could smell a flowery perfume and alcohol on the other and was promptly very aware of their closeness.  
“Looks good,” Feliks said very softly, almost with a purr.  
“Pardon?” Tolys answered, looking up to meet the light green eyes.  
“The dessert looks good,” the blond repeated, but he never looked at the mentioned dishes. A faint smile played on his lips and Tolys noticed at once that there was pink lip gloss on them. He felt his cheeks heating up and the world suddenly seemed very small, as if only consisting of himself and the other man. A soft hand touched his elbow and Tolys could feel its warmth trough the fabric of his shirt. Feliks leaned forward an inch and their world seemed even smaller right now. He was going to _say_ something – then the door to the next room opened and the touch and closeness and warmth was abruptly gone and Feliks was not leaning against the table anymore and the world had become so much bigger and colder then.  
Tolys did not remember when he had last breathed.  
“Thank you for serving the dessert, Mr. Laurinaitis,” Ivan Braginsky said, standing in the doorway.  
“You are welcome, Sir,” Tolys hastily answered, straightening up. He nodded politely at both men – Feliks was turned away from him, looking at his husband – and retreated towards the door. “I hope everything is fine? If not, please call, Sir,” he said. Ivan Braginsky nodded quietly. Tolys took the hint.  
“Good evening,” he finally said and with a last glance towards Feliks, who hadn’t moved at all, he closed the door quietly behind himself.

  


* * *

  


Mornings usually were his time off, so he would stay at home or meet friends, but one of Tolys’ colleagues had gotten a baby and he had sewed a baby blanket as a present. Since his colleague worked in the morning shift, he exceptionally made his way to the hotel early in the morning.  
After handing over the present to a very moved – and tired – new parent, he hardly could refuse a cup of coffee that was offered by someone of the morning shift.  
While sitting down in a quiet corner of the restaurant he observed the guests and staff. Due to breakfast-time it was quite busy and it was always enlightening to see how differently the guests reacted to mornings. Some were entirely happy and widely awake, preparing themselves for another eventful day. Others were fairly tired with a toned down mood, probably due to an insufficient amount of sleep because of last nights events.  
Among those eating breakfast Tolys spotted a familiar blond man. He seemed somewhat quiet in comparison to his usual lively appearance and Tolys thought it fitted Feliks not to be a morning-person.  
  
When the other made his way over to the buffet, their eyes met for a second. Tolys smiled gently and nodded as a greeting, happy to see the other man. Feliks right away adverted his gaze, not showing any emotion on his face.  
Tolys frowned. This reaction was very different than that mere hours ago.  
But after a second, the light green eyes returned and after some hesitation, the blond moved over towards Tolys.  
“Good morning,” Tolys greeted him properly.  
“Morning,” Feliks answered, a guarded smile on his lips, his eyes not quite meeting the other.  
“You’re here?” he asked instead.  
Tolys started to explain the circumstances but his mind stumbled as soon as he was able to properly take in Feliks’ appearance. The blond man clearly spotted a bruised cheekbone and Tolys was fairly certain that it had not been there yesterday evening. He definitely would have noticed it.  
He faltered for a moment and upon following his gaze, Feliks’ eyes narrowed. Within an instant, Tolys decided not to comment on his observation, instead finished his explanation about the baby blanket.  
“That’s nice of you,” Feliks commented his story, his voice soft.  
Tolys smiled at the praise and felt slightly giddy, even though it essentially was the same statement he had gotten from his colleagues earlier.  
“Thank you,” he answered nonetheless, locking eyes with the blond.  
He received a small smile as a reward, but it was short lived since Feliks adverted his gaze and fiddled with his sleeves nervously.  
Tolys was distracted by the movement and upon noticing faint bruises at Feliks’ wrists he barely caught himself before he could reach out to steady Feliks’ hands. He opened his mouth to voice his observation now, but Feliks was faster.  
“Anyway, we’ll see each other?” Feliks announced, turning towards the buffet to indicate his intention of leaving.  
“Yes, of course,” Tolys answered hastily and his eyes followed the blond as he got some fruit salad and then moved back to his table.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The unhealthy relationship is with Russia, no surprise. I honestly doubt that anyone can invent an alternative universe where these two work out. Still, I do not like portraying Russia as an evil person. I have less problems with this as long as they are nations, because I think somehow human standards don’t really apply to them. If they are nations inflicting pain is less amoral because violence is part of their character and upbringing. But as adult humans in a modern society? That’s a different story.  
> So sorry, Ivan. You have to be the bad guy here.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is going to be quite short because I split it, so this fic will have an extra chapter now! The reason is that somehow the two scenes per chapter did not work out (that’s the punishment for not writing all of the fic before I started to post it).  
> Anyway, enjoy!

It was his day off. After all, no one was able to work 24/7.  
So Tolys started his day slowly: A good breakfast, having a cup of coffee while reading the newspaper in his pajamas and then dressing to buy some groceries for the week. Since he usually had to work in the afternoon and evening, he sometimes got fresh fruits or other stuff at the marked in the morning, but stocking up his supply with durable food and supermarket goods – after all, sweets were a good thing now and then – was better done on his free day when he was not exhaust and had not to keep an eye on the opening hours of the shops.  
  
When he saw a mother with her small son buying noodles and vegetables – much to the boy’s distaste which he announced loudly – his mind involuntarily drifted to the small blond boy of his memories. Feliks Łukasiewicz. He was certain that the boy from his memories and his guest in the hotel were the same person. He could not imagine that there would be two people with such intoxicating green eyes. And besides, the other evidence like name and place of birth fit, too.

But despite the similarities there were huge differences between the boy from his memories and the young man in the hotel. Tolys remembered the boy with a bright smile, light in his green eyes. There had been an indestructible joy and thirst to be free within the boy that had so much resembled his own.  
The look of these green eyes now was different. They were averted most of the time, but if they were not, the gaze was scrutinizing, judging and cautious and sometimes bored. There was a smile on those lips quite often, to tell the truth, but it was not the smile of a carefree boy. Tolys had the inexplicable feeling that the smile was plastered as a facade, pretending to convey joy to an outside world full of judges. Or it turned into something else, a weapon maybe, to bewitch others, incite them to come closer, to bend to a foreign will. Whatever it was, it was definitely not the bright smile full with joy and _light_ that Tolys remembered.  
Then, he thought about the playful smile he had been granted with the evening before yesterday – it had been flirtatious, he was certain. Due to the memory, the lightheaded feeling from that evening returned.  
“That makes 14 Euro and 60 Cent,” the cashier interrupted his thoughts.  
Startled, Tolys shook his head softly to get rid of the memory and concentrated on the task at hand. Buying groceries. After paying, he carried his goods home. He remembered the bruises on Felkis’ body. He definitely should have said something, Tolys decided.  
  


* * *

  


“Hey there!” Feliks greeted him, his high voice full of laughter.  
“Good evening Feliks,” Tolys returned in kind, looking up from his work. In front of him was Feliks, leaning against the counter as usual, his green eyes set intently on Tolys.  
Tolys immediately searched the others face for the bruise it had spotted the day before yesterday, but it was hardly visible, both due to being faded and probably some make-up.  
“Where’ve you been yesterday?” Feliks asked, almost with a whine, diverting Tolys’ attention. “I’ve missed you!”  
“I had a day off,” Tolys patiently explained to the other man.  
“What a bummer!” Feliks announced, sighing exaggerated.  
“So your day was not satisfactory?” Tolys asked quietly, maybe a tad too serious.  
“Mmm,” was the only non-committed sound Feliks gave as an answer.

There was a short pause in which Feliks’ eyes darted around the lobby, then they landed on the brunette again.

“You know, whoever has selected that hotel uniform has, like, no sense of fashion. At all.” Feliks suddenly said and his eyes sparkled mockingly. Coming up with a completely unrelated topic seemed to be common for Feliks, Tolys noticed.  
“Well, I have nothing against red dress shirts, but yes, they are quite stiffly,” Tolys answered bewildered, glancing at his clothes for a moment.  
Feliks beamed him a smile and leaned forward, rubbing with his fingers along the collar of the shirt.  
Tolys felt himself holding his breath for a second upon the contact. Feliks was in his personal space again and Tolys was definitely not prepared for the reaction his body initiated.  
“True,” the blond agreed, his voice soft and low.  
Then, the hand withdrew and the only thing that remained was the faint smell of Feliks’ perfume and Tolys' heart beating quickly and loudly in his ears.

“Yesterday was boring without you. Who am I supposed to get history lessons from?” Feliks argued and Tolys had the distinctive feeling that the other was messing around with him. But at least they were back at the topic they had been talking about.  
“Well, I can try to answer your questions now, if you’d like?” Tolys felt compelled to say.  
“Can’t we, like, both go out this evening and you can show me some important sites?” Feliks replied, smiling at Tolys.  
Tolys had no doubt that Feliks knew exactly how to use his smile to get what he wanted. And to tell the truth, it worked. At least as far as Tolys himself was concerned.  
“If you like to, we can have breakfast in the city tomorrow and I’ll show you some places until I have to turn up to work?” he offered quietly.  
“Great!” Feliks chirped immediately.  
The blond pulled away from the counter, but then turned again.  
“Here at eight?” he asked and Tolys nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know Feliks would use perfume. That’s so much like him.
> 
> And is Feliks asking Tolys out on a date? Probably. Is that a bad idea while being married to Russia? Definitely. Is something going to happen? You’ll find out ;)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s so strange writing about summer while hoping for a white Christmas. Anyway, happy new year to everyone! As a gift: This chapter is going to be way longer than usual because this story is coming to an end and I needed to built some relationship before we enter the last chapter and these two were having such a great time, I did not like to cut them off. So it is actually not a gift, but whatever.  
> Enjoy!

_It was another warm summer day. The swings beneath them moved slowly, their feet kicked the sand._  
_“What’s your name again?” the blond boy suddenly asked, incredulously looking at him._  
_“Tolys,” the brunette answered._  
_“That’s a strange name!” the boy replied. “Tol-yys. To-lys. Tooolys,” he mumbled more to himself than to the other, his feet kicking the sand absentminded._  
_“Stop it! I like it,” Tolys defended himself. “My parents chose it because it’s Lithuanian.”_  
_“Yep, definitely strange!” Feliks announced, finally coming to an end of chanting the name._  
_“As if yours is normal!” Tolys complained. He had stopped his swing to look at the other boy properly._  
_“That’s the trick. It is special. It is L-Latin, I think,” the blond explained, his face suddenly stern. At least as far as a child’s face can be._  
_“It means happy. Or lucky… I don’t know.” There was uncertainty in his voice for a moment, then it was replaced by a beaming smile._  
_“But it’s special! I am special!” Feliks announced proudly._  
_“Yeah, sure,” Tolys answered, not really convinced. They probably should drop that topic altogether. He had never heard of something like Latin before, and one could never know if Feliks had just invented it. The other boy did this sometimes._  
  
_But there was no need to change the topic. Feliks was erratic, his concentration was usually not persistent._  
_“Let’s play,” Feliks announced and jumped down from the swing. It was their favorite spot since they had first met and they usually sat there, talking mostly. Actually, Feliks did a lot of the talking, but that was fine with Tolys. He liked to listen to the other boy. Feliks had the talent to imagine vivid worlds. He told beautiful stories. He used to submerge into his own stories, his light green eyes shining brightly. And Feliks had a beautiful voice, not that Tolys would ever tell him this._  
_“What do you want to play?” Tolys asked._  
_“Ponies!” Feliks exclaimed happily._  
_Tolys hesitated. That was not his favorite game. He remembered that his mother had instructed him to voice his opinion openly. That’s what he tried now._  
_“I’d rather be a wolf,” Tolys said._  
_“Fine with me,” Feliks answered and shrugged his shoulders._  
_“Let’s just find some world where that’s working. Let me think...” and off they were._

__

  


* * *

  


Tolys had not slept well. He had spend half of the night trying not to think about Feliks and had miserably failed. The blond had made his way into his thoughts and was stubbornly staying there.  
  
However, he could not dwell on this for long, he had to prepare for the day.  
  
Yesterday evening, after Feliks had disappeared, Tolys had asked himself where to go with the blond. He had discarded the idea of showing Feliks the historic city center because it was likely that the other had seen parts of the city already. So instead, he had come up with a more unique idea. But for this he had to hurry up a little because he needed to get his car ready, pack some stuff and buy bread. Luckily, he had refilled his stock at home on his day off, so he was able to spontaneously change his plans now.  
  
Nearly an hour later Tolys was ready to go. His nerves were getting him, his hands were sweaty, his stomach was upset. He forced a long breath through his nose, trying to calm himself. He was only meeting Feliks and showing him some of Lithuania’s beautiful sites, there was no reason to be nervous.  
He sighed and made his way to the hotel.  
  
“Good morning Feliks,” Tolys greeted the blond upon entering the hotel lobby.  
“Hellooo~” Feliks said joyfully, already waiting in the lobby. Tolys had not expected the other to be early, after all, he was no morning-person. But obviously, Feliks was keen on surprising him.  
The blond wore a plain dark t-shirt, his red jacket and thin dark boots, apparently trying to be prepared for whatever trip Tolys had been planning. Tolys was glad that the other had thought about a coat. Mornings could be chilly despite of the time of the year and he did not know what the weather would be like where they were heading.  
  
“You seem to be prepared. I have my car outside,” Tolys said while smiling at the other man. He had known that Feliks would probably put a lot of work into his outfit. He himself usually failed as far as this topic was concerned, so he had finally gave up and chose a simple dark green shirt.  
“Fine, let’s go!” Feliks announced lightly, obviously in a very good mood.  
  
After getting into the car, Tolys started to drive them through the city. They were heading westwards and soon the outskirts of Vilnius vanished behind them and a more rural landscape stretched before them.  
Feliks was suspiciously observing the interior of the car. Tolys watched him from the corner of his eyes, trying to asses his mood and thoughts.  
“It’s a second hand car, but it works quite well,” Tolys finally said.  
Feliks looked up, his eyes wide.  
“I didn’t, like, said anything,” he spluttered, obviously embarrassed to be caught judging the car.  
“I know, I just –“ Tolys’ voice trailed off. He did not know what he had intended to imply. Maybe that he knew Feliks was used to a more exclusive and expensive life-style.  
“My mom has a second hand car. She totally swears it’s the best one she ever had,” Feliks explained quietly.  
Tolys only nodded, unsure of what to reply to that. He tried to recall whether he had ever seen Feliks’ mother, but came up with nothing. A child’s memory was a tricky thing.  
They fell silent for a while, Tolys concentrated on driving, being hyper aware of his companion on the front seat and Feliks had set his gaze outside, now watching the landscape.  
  
“Liet, I thought we would be having breakfast in the city?” Feliks suddenly said into the silence.  
“Oh,” Tolys replied. He had apparently forgotten to tell the other man his plans.  
“I changed my mind. You’ve probably been to the city already, so I thought about a better destination.”  
“And where are we going?” Feliks continued to ask, sounding suspicious. It seemed that he did not like surprises. So Tolys tried to make up for it with explaining his plan thoroughly.  
“It’s a thirty minute drive. There is a castle on an island, called _Trakų salos pilis_ in Lithuanian. It is a beautiful place and full of history, so I wanted to show it to you.”  
The blond seemed lost in thoughts for a moment.  
“Never heard of it,” he finally stated, shrugging his shoulders.  
Tolys feared that the other might fall back into his facade of being bored, so he quickly continued.  
“I think it’s called _Zamek w Trokach_ in Polish?” Tolys was not completely sure whether his rusty Polish was any use at all.  
“I totally know that name. _Wait! You speak Polish?_ ” Feliks answered, his eyes wide. He changed into Polish half way through his sentence and was speaking rapidly now.  
Tolys didn’t had practice in Polish for years, so he did his best to adjust to the change.  
“Yes, I lived in Poland for some time,” Tolys answered, now in Polish, too, hoping that his pronunciation was not completely off. He eyed the other to see whether there would be any reaction or maybe even recognition. But it was in vain.  
“I’m a Pole,” the blond clarified, beaming a smile at him.  
“I know,” Tolys started, but then it somehow felt wrong to explain now that they probably had met each other as kids, so he continued with a different explanation than the one he initially had in mind.  
“I’ve seen your –” he searched for the right words in Polish for a moment “– passport-number and place of birth.” That was true, too.  
“So, that’s up with the nick-name of yours?” he continued before the blond could comment on his previous statement.  
“Yeah, like, that’s what Lizzy sometimes calls me”, Feliks laughed. He definitely was feeling better speaking in Polish. Tolys thought the downside of this – having trouble understanding the rapid, foreign words – was acceptable since it made Feliks way more open, letting him smile frequently in Tolys’ direction. And so far, Tolys’ mind started to recall more and more words and grammar. Ultimately, he had been a child living there, using Polish as much as his mother tongue.  
Therefore, the rest of the ride went by with Feliks chattering lightly in Polish, the words dropping from his mouth quickly. Tolys seldom added something to the conversation, but Feliks seemed fine with it.  
Meanwhile, the landscape changed again, now lakes in different sizes were scattered around, like breadcrumbs on a plate.  
“We’re almost there, aren’t we?” Feliks asked, watching the landscape intently. “It’s an island castle, after all.”  
“Yes,” Tolys simply replied, concentrating on the street signs so he would not miss the right moment to leave the highway.  
  
Tolys parked the car and collected what he had prepared for their trip from the trunk. It was a basket full of food and a picnic blanket.  
Feliks observed him intrigued but did not offer his help.  
As soon as the Lithuanian had found a good spot, he spread the blanket on the grass. The view was perfect: In front of them the lake and on it on an island stood the proud castle, it’s red walls reflecting on the water.  
Apparently, Feliks thought so, too, because he just stood there, his green eyes focused on the castle.  
“It’s beautiful!” the blond announced after a while, in awe.  
Tolys chuckled. Today was a particularly good day, the sun extended its warm rays upon them and the colorful castle contrasted perfectly with the blue sky and water. He was glad he had picked this tourist attraction to show Feliks.  
  
“The castle was built in the 14th century and was a stronghold against the Teutonic knights and therefore lost it’s military importance after the Battle of Grunewald. Reconstruction started in the 20th century, but mainly after 1950. It’s a museum now,” Tolys explained while he set up the food on the blanket.  
“Can we go there?” Feliks asked, his gaze still focused on the red castle across the water.  
“Yes, that was the idea. After we had breakfast,” the Lithuanian told him. He was rewarded with a beaming smile, therefore, he decided that apparently his plan for the trip was working well.  
  
While having their picnic, Feliks had taken off his shoes and was splashing the water with his feet now, laughing.  
“Liet, you know, that totally doesn’t make sense!” Feliks exclaimed, laughing at Tolys. The brunette had just mixed up some Lithuanian words into one of his history explanations and the Pole obviously thought it was quite funny.  
Tolys sighed. He could deal with Feliks laughing at him but it bugged him a little bit nonetheless. He knew the other did not mean any harm with it – and honestly, his laugh was way too intriguing to reprimand him.  
“You know, I have a first name, too,” he decided to mention instead. He had no problem with Feliks using the nick-name, it just felt strange.  
The blond looked at him with wide eyes, probably rather surprised about the change of the topic than about the fact that Tolys had another name besides the one Feliks had chosen for him.  
“I mean, you can still use the nick-name. I don’t care – well, I care what you do, but it is _fine_ either way. I… That’s not what I meant... anyway, it’s Tolys,” he stammered. _Great_. That was not how he had wanted to convey it. Being nervous and using a foreign language was getting him.  
“Oh,” Feliks said softly. And then: “That’s a strange name.”  
Tolys had to remember how to breathe for a second.  
_That’s a strange name._  
He was reminded of a small blond boy with eyes full of light. He looked up to ponder whether the other man recalled that name, _him_ , but Feliks did not meet his eyes. His gaze was fixed on the castle above the water again.  
There was silence for a moment and only the splashing of water and the voices of the tourists the wind carried over the water were heard.  
“Tolys. It’s Lithuanian, isn’t it?” Feliks said after a while and Tolys’ heart beat so loud in his ears that he could hardly hear what the blond said. He had thought about Feliks using his actual name for days by now, and yet was still totally unprepared for it. He had to force his mind to concentrate on the conversation at hand.  
“Yes, it is,” he finally said absentminded. “I am Lithuanian, after all.” He tried to smile at the other man without displaying all the bottled-up emotions on his face.  
“Right,” the blond said, laughing freely.  
At that moment, Tolys imagined how it would be like to kiss those pink lips.  
The laugh faded into a confident smile. Then, the blond leaned forward, placing a soft kiss on Tolys’ lips. The kiss was quickly over. It was almost a peck. But on the lips. Between two adults, males, nearly strangers – Tolys’ mind was reeling. Before he could actually grasp what had happened, Feliks had already withdrawn himself, getting up and collecting his shoes.  
“Aren’t we, like, going to visit the castle now?” the blond asked as if nothing had happened.  
Tolys only nodded dumbfounded and with some grabs he collected the leftovers from their breakfast and got up, too.  
While Feliks put on his shoes, he put the basket and blanket back in the car.  
They started to make their way to the castle in silence and Tolys almost thought he had imagined that kiss just moments ago, when Feliks suddenly slipped a hand into his, causally, as if it would be the most natural thing to do in this world.  
  
They visited the castle, enjoying the view and the exhibition, chatting and laughing.  
  
When they were at their way back to the car, crossing the bridge that connected the castle with the surrounding land again, Tolys decided to mention the bruises he had noticed days ago. None of them were visible now, but he could not shake the feeling that he needed to intervene somehow.  
“That bruises –“ he started.  
Feliks immediately narrowed his eyes at him, slipping in a defensive stance – both mental and physical.  
“I don’t want to… all I want to do is ask whether you are ok? I care for you, that’s all,” Tolys tried to explain.  
“I am fine,” Feliks replied straightaway, without missing a beat.  
“Good,” the brunette answered, trying to keep his tone neutral. He did not want to give the impression to mistrust Feliks’ words. He needed time to think about that particular reply and situation later, but right now, Feliks was still in front of him and still looked at him with suspicion all over his face.  
“But if you are not, you know, ‘fine’ anymore, you can tell me, because I care,” Tolys offered, uncertain how to convey his feelings to the other man.  
Feliks scrutinized him for a moment, then he nodded, dropping the topic along with the tense stance.  
Tolys observed the other, unsure whether the blond had accepted his offer or not. When Feliks finally slipped a hand into his again, he was relived.  
“Don’t worry, I’m fine,” Feliks repeated after a while and now it sounded less like an excuse than previously.  
“Do you remember the quote? The one about the dream?” he asked the Lithuanian.  
“ _‘Do not dream your life, live your dream’_ ,“ Tolys answered, recalling the quote correctly. “Yes, that. I always dreamed of being wealthy and married. So I guess I, like, live my dream?” Feliks continued with his explanation.  
“Dreams can change,” Tolys replied quietly, squeezing Feliks’ hand for a second.  
“The ones about beauty and fame usually don’t,” the blond laughed. Tolys had the distinctive feeling that Feliks used his smile again to divert attention, to direct the conversation wherever he liked. However, Tolys went with it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Actually, the name thing is tricky. In a lot of languages (including Latin and Polish) there is only one word for lucky and happy. That makes it tricky writing in English since the name itself is Latin and the kids are speaking Polish. So you can either read it like this, or pretend the sentence “or lucky” did not happen in Polish. The language problem is the reason for the name change from Toris to Tolys, too. After all, this story has to make sense in a Human Universe.
> 
> And if you are asking yourself what language they were speaking until now: Well, probably Russian, maybe English. But rather the first since Ivan is a Russian and Tolys knew this, plus, Lithuanians often learn or learned either in school and the adults speak Russian rather than English.  
> (Russian is spoken by 70% of the Lithuanians, but just 40% of the kids learn it. In contrast to that, English is spoken by 30% of the total population and 80% of the youth. Reason is history, as so often when habits and culture are concerned. But I told you I am not writing about history for once, so I stop here.)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was not meant to be primarily about domestic violence/abuse, therefore, the relationship between Feliks and Ivan doesn’t play a major part (this was supposed to be fluff, dammit!). Nonetheless, as soon as I felt the story drifting into this direction (and to the climax in this chapter), I tried to portray it as well as I could. I haven’t talked to victims of domestic abuse (just used various homepages by aid agencies), so if anyone wants to criticize anything, feel free to do so! And I am sorry if someone experiences negative emotions because of me. Anyway, if you or people you know experience abuse, please get help. You are all precious people.

Soft lips on his, just for a second. Despite the brevity, he remembered the kiss clearly. It was branded in his mind.  
  
Tolys opened his eyes to concentrate on the task at hand: Checking the names and keys and then starting his housekeeping tour. He couldn’t believe that their kiss had happened mere hours ago. Around midday, he had brought the blond back to the hotel and then had started his work day. Now, it was late afternoon on the exact same summer day and his usually ambitious mind could hardly concentrate on anything except of the blond man.  
  
Nonetheless, with his list of names and his basket filled with fruits, water bottles and cleaning chemicals he made his way through the house. While passing the door of the suite where the Braginskys lived, he hesitated. There was no key left at the reception, so the men supposedly were in their room. Yet, somehow it didn’t feel right. He remembered Feliks deliberately leaving his key downstairs at the reception, it didn’t matter whether he stayed or not. Maybe the other man had finally decided to stick to the house rules and abandoned his wayward habit? That seemed unlikely.  
Skeptical, Tolys halted in front of the suite. After some moments, he decided to knock. At least he could offer some water and fresh fruits and ask whether the men needed anything else. He knew they were not supposed to interrupt their guests, but somehow, he didn’t care about the rules for once.  
The first knocks were left unanswered. And so were the following.  
For a moment, Tolys was torn between leaving and knocking again, even though the latter would be in vain for sure.  
Then, as if on impulse, he used the door handle. The door did not yield. It was locked.  
Puzzled, Tolys checked his list again. Yes, no keys at the reception, that meant the couple was supposed to be inside. Well, people could lock themselves in for privacy, but that was not common here.  
Putting the basket down, he reached for his key. After taking a deep breath to calm himself down – doing what he was doing was against protocol – he called out a polite warning and then turned the key.  
With a soft _click_ the door unlocked.  
The room was dark, on the table were glasses and fruits scattered with personal belongings. In the dim light from the floor the scene vaguely appeared like a painting, a still-life from a famous artist. Tolys could not even recall one by name, so he wondered why his mind leaped to such a comparison.  
“Hello?” he called out again.  
He was met with silence and darkness.  
With another glance at the quiet room, he collected his basket and then returned to the suite, closing the door softly behind himself, switching on the lights.  
With experienced movements he refilled the fruits, cleaned the table. Upon entering the bedroom, he froze. The room was dark but he could clearly spot the flower pot scattered on the floor, the bed-sheets ruffled, one was apparently missing.  
Tolys’ eyes searched the room, but the sheet remained lost, so he entered the next room.  
A similar view extended in front of him: The cushions were scattered around, a cabinet door left ajar, the light switched off. But what caught Tolys’ eyes was the corner of the sheet on the floor behind the couch. And then, Tolys heard the soft and shallow breathing that barely refrained from hitching every now and then.  
Within a second, he went around the couch and was kneeling on the floor next to the small pile.  
  
“Feliks?” his voice was soft. The breathing stopped for a second, then a blond head emerged from the pile.  
  
Feliks’ face showed all the signs of crying: his eyes were rimmed red, his nose spotted the same color, his cheeks shone wet, his hair was disheveled. He took another quivering breath, then rubbed his face quickly before finally meeting Tolys’ eyes.  
Tolys couldn't make out whether the other tried to hide that he was crying or not, but either way he was distracted by the laceration that was clearly visible on Feliks’ right temple. Even in the dimly lit room he was able to see the blood that was smeared into the blond hair.  
  
“Are you alright?” he asked on impulse and immediately scolded himself for the obvious stupid question.  
But what was worse was the answer he received: “I’m fine.”  
He was surprised that Feliks’ voice was steady.  
  
“You are hurt.” He vaguely gestured in the direction of Feliks’ temple, not completely managing to suppress the disbelieving tone in his voice.  
There was a pause for a moment, then: _I’m fine_ again with that glint in Feliks’ eyes that told a completely different story.  
Panic surged through Tolys.  
“I’m calling the police,” he said harshly, starting to raise.  
“No!” Feliks breathed quickly, looking scared.  
Tolys halted, but shook his head. “I should.”  
“Please, don’t,” the blond repeated, pleading now.  
Tolys hesitated. Those green eyes which were rimmed red now, looked at him with despair and sorrow.  
  
“Okay,” Tolys finally said, against better judgment. He tried to gather his thoughts, calming himself down. He had to decide what to do next.  
“Wait here,” he said softly, getting up.  
“Don’t leave me!” Feliks’ voice tainted with panic.  
“I’m coming back, Feliks,” he tried to reassure the other. “I’m getting clean towels and medicine. I’m back in no time.” He made his voice as soft as possible.  
Finally, Feliks barely visible nodded.  
  
Tolys left the suite in a fast pace, closing the door softly behind himself and then he sprinted downstairs towards the nearest storage room. In it he hastily grabbed fresh towels and a first-aid-kit. Then he paused for a second and switched on his mobile phone. He had to refrain from calling the police, but called his colleague at the reception instead to tell her that she needed to cover for him due to a critical situation. He was glad that his colleagues thought highly of him and that he was treated as a senior despite of his age, so without objections she immediately agreed.  
  
Upon reentering the suite, he called out again to announce his return to the other. Back in the room he found Feliks exactly how he had left him, so he went into the bathroom to dampen one of the towels with warm water and then returned to the other man. He lowered himself slowly in front of him and extended the wet towel. When Feliks did not make a move – neither to withdraw, nor to take the towel himself – he softly rubbed Feliks’ temple where blood was smeared onto the skin and into the blond hair.  
  
“Who was it? Your husband?” He asked into the silence, lowering the towel as soon as he deemed the result acceptable.  
  
“He loves me.”  
  
Tolys hesitated, then opened the disinfectant.  
“It might burn,” he warned the other instead of commenting his claim.  
Feliks shrugged and then turned his face away so Tolys had better access to the laceration. Upon contact, he winced, but otherwise did not move.  
  
Tolys worked in silence, dressing the wound. He doubted his own abilities and wished the other had agreed to call the officers.  
  
While Tolys was working with the bandages, Feliks muttered something along the lines of _he loves me. I trust him. I am fine_. And even: _I am happy_.  
  
Tolys softly shook his head. He pointed in the general direction of the flowerpot, scattered on the floor. “Remember what I said about the flowers? Every living thing needs care to blossom. Neither them, nor you, seem to blossom in his presence,” he pointed out. He didn’t want to confront Feliks, yet, he still could not listen to him pretending everything was fine.  
  
The blond did stop his muttering. Then he shrugged his shoulders softly. “He can’t control himself.”  
  
“I think he is very controlled as long as he is interacting with others. He is a public figure with a booming business, after all.”  
Another shrug.  
Tolys wanted to continue, but stopped. He did not know how to convey his worry properly.  
  
After a while, Feliks interrupted the silence with his soft voice: “Anyway, it’s my fault for going out with you. I shouldn’t have done this.”  
  
Tolys stalled his hands, then he finished his task quickly.  
  
“I liked our morning a lot, I don’t think it justifies this,” he said determined, trying to catch Feliks’ eyes. When the other did not react, he rephrased his statement: “ _I know_ nothing justifies hurting you.”  
  
“He said he couldn’t trust me and he was right.”  
  
“Feliks, listen. It doesn’t matter what you have done. Even our kiss doesn’t justify hurting you.”  
  
He hesitated, then continued: “Feliks, I know you. I don’t know much about your relationship, but I know that you are brave for keep going on. And I think I know you for longer than just the last days. Remember Warsaw?” – at this, the blond tuned his head again, the green eyes curious – “I think we know each other from Warsaw, as kids, you know?”  
The blond brows furrowed, then, slowly, they lifted again, recognition finally shone in those eyes.  
“Tolys,” he whispered. The brunette smiled brightly, relief flashing through him.  
  
When Feliks just continued to stare and did not add anything else, he finally gestured towards the pile. “Can I see whether you need more medical aid?”  
Feliks nodded and allowed him to retrieve him from the sheet. Tolys opened another ointment and started to softly apply it on Feliks’ bruised skin.  
  
After a couple of minutes that felt like eternity – in a very bad way since Feliks was obviously hurt – he deemed his makeshift work done. He folded his hands in his lap and locked eyes with the other.  
  
“Feliks, what do you want me to do?” He tried to refrain from stating his own opinion, forcing the other into something or making a decision for him. He honestly did not know much about the Braginskys and even if, it was not his life and therefore not his choice to make. Even a shared childhood or kiss did not qualify him to enforce his views. Nothing did, as nothing did justify Ivan’s actions as well.  
  
The blond man thought about it for a moment. “Can you help me to get up?”  
  
Tolys nodded. Swaying, Feliks got up, gripping Tolys’ hands tightly.  
“I have a headache,” the blond announced, wincing. “I might have a concussion.”  
  
Panic reemerged in Tolys. He did not know what to do in cases like this. He did not want Feliks to get hurt even more.  
  
“I don’t want an ambulance,” the blond announced and Tolys’ heart sank. But then, after a moment of hesitation Feliks added: “Liet, could you drive me to the hospital?”  
  
For a second, Tolys was startled, then he nodded, relieved. “I bring you to my car, then I tell my colleague that I’m off early and so we can go, ok?”  
  
Feliks nodded, so they made their way through the hotel. At the first floor they crossed paths with the albino, probably on his way towards the suite. Tolys felt Feliks immediately shrinking next to him, so he moved slightly in front of the other man.  
  
“Where are you going?” Gilbert asked, his brows furrowed. Even though the question was directed at Feliks, Tolys answered on his behalf. “To the hospital. And you –” he glanced at Feliks who nodded very softly “– are not invited.”  
  
Gilbert’s brows lifted with surprise and disbelief and then he crossed his arms. “That’s against my orders. What if something happens to you?”  
Tolys had to repress the urge to laugh. To his surprise, Feliks answered. “I think I’m fine at the hospital. Neither you nor him need to come and pick me up.”  
There was silence for a moment. Gilbert looked the other up and down, obviously noticing his injuries and the way his hand clenched Tolys’.  
“Please,” Feliks whispered.  
The red eyes became softer, getting stuck at a bruise that was forming on Feliks’ collarbone. Then the albino shrugged. “I haven’t seen you today,” he announced, swiveling on his heels, retreating without another word.

  


* * *

  


It was a long night. Feliks’ suspicion turned out to be true, so the doctors ordered him to stay. Tolys was glad when Feliks asked them not to pass information further to his husband and the doctors immediately sent him someone specialized in abuse. After everyone left, he was alone at Feliks’ bedside, feeling the adrenaline of the day leaving him. He felt drained, tired, but strangely relieved and happy as well.  
  
“You can go home, Tolys,” Feliks suddenly said.  
He looked up to meet the green eyes.  
“I’ve no problem to stay.”  
“I know,” Feliks smiled. The fist one for hours. It felt strange that they had been in Trakai at the same day. “But you should go. You need rest, too.”  
Tolys couldn't disagree with that statement.  
“Ok. I’ll get your stuff from the hotel tomorrow and bring it to you,” he offered, hoping that he would be able to access the suite. “Or I bring you some of my clothes.” Even his old stuff was better than the hospital garment.  
“Your stuff is probably as stylish as the hotel uniform!” There was laughter in Feliks’ voice and Tolys couldn’t help but to smile back.  
  
He rose from his spot at Feliks’ bedside when a hand gripped his. Light green eyes sparkled.  
  
“Thank you, Tolys.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That’s it. I am so happy that I finally managed to write something with these two where there is no bitterness between them. Well, Poland’s life is not easy, not even in this Alternative Universe, but at least with Liet everything is fine.  
> Btw, Gilbert has somehow got a life of his own, so the way he reacts here results from a bunch of motives and choices that all happened off-screen. Like the fact that he has a little brother for whom he has to play parent and so on. Maybe I’ll be forced to write a sequel about them, but right now I’m happy that this is finished :)
> 
> Thank you for reading and for the kudos and comments, they mean a lot to me :)


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